Strawberry Swing
by chromate
Summary: Sixteen years old Nishikino Maki wondered what it meant to be falling in love. An encounter with a young violinist proved to be the answer to her question. A story set in Maki's second year of senior high, with violin, piano, and romance involved.
1. Chapter 1: Andante Spianato

I actually started writing this before I engage in _All Alone With You_, my RinxMaki fic. The idea has been in my mind for some time, and even though I wonder how many people are actually going to read a fic with a male OC as a romantic interest, I decide to go along with it.

This story will be largely from Maki's POV, set in her second year in senior high. The focus on music will play a major role in the story, as it is what inspires me to write this in the first place. As stated, this is a story that involves a male OC that will be paired with Maki. I understand that people come here mostly to read pairings among the girls, though again I have to sadly admit that I find it unrealistic everyone within the group will just get into relationships with each other. That does not mean I don't like such stories, however; I merely hope to contribute a bit of diversity to the fandom.

Plot: Sixteen years old Nishikino Maki wondered what it meant to be falling in love. An encounter with a young violinist proved to be the answer to her question.

Genre: Romance, Friendship, Drama, Slice of Life

Characters: Maki, OC; Rin, Hanayo; rest of μ's

Pairing: MakixOC

The image used for this story is illustrated by_幻象黑兔_ at pixiv, with the ID of the image being _45771658_. The title of it is _Piano solo by Nishikino Maki_. Again, music plays a big role in this story, which is why I pick this image with Maki standing before the grand piano.

Story title is the song of the same name by the British band **Coldplay**. Chapter title refers to Chopin's composition, usually serving as a prelude to _Grande polonaise brillante in E-flat major._

As always, I recommend reading in ½ page size.

Now, enjoy!

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><p><em>Chapter 1: Andante spianato<em>

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><p>If she could be granted the chance to try anything for once in her life, Nishikino Maki wanted to know how it felt to fall in love.<p>

Of course, she wouldn't admit that to anyone – what an embarrassing thing to say out loud! - even to herself, for that matter. Whenever the topic of 'romance' came up, she could only recall the argument of writing a love song or not, or Umi's outburst when everyone from μ's watched a romantic movie together, calling the movie scandalous and a sign of moral decay.

Maki had always been indifferent towards this topic. With the exception of joining μ's, her whole life had been planned well ahead of time: she would study medicine in college, become a doctor, and inherit her parents' hospital in the long run. Knowing her family's reputation, she knew her parents would ask her to marry someone with a similar status as well, and she had wholeheartedly accepted this.

It was only until recently that she started to question the validity of this path. Being part of μ's meant that she dealt with people of vastly different personalities on a daily basis, something that she had never done so in her past fifteen years of life. It prompted her to think if choosing the predestined path was actually a good idea, considering her accidental enrollment with the school idol group had given her more than she had ever imagined it possibly could.

Maki was not naïve. She knew well that regardless of her own opinion on the matter, she had to live up to the well-reputed name of "Nishikino". Even though she loved music more than anything else, being a school idol was, after all, a temporary thing, something that she would stop doing after she graduated from senior high, a little less than two years later. She certainly did not resist being a doctor, but were there no alternatives? Was there something else that she could actually do? Something that was not decided by her parents?

Was she satisfied with her predestined path at all?

Maki stared at the ceiling and sighed. She wondered what Hanayo and Rin were up to. She needed some distraction.

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><p>'That would be one thousand and seven hundred yen!'<p>

Maki silently paid the cashier before departing from the music store. She had just purchased a copy of a music score that she had wanted for some time, and she couldn't wait to try it once she got back home. The music store wasn't located near her neighbourhood, after all. It would take her a while to get back.

The sound of violin entered her ears, and she raised an eyebrow. While street performances were common, it was rare to hear classical music being played in this area. She turned to find a teenage boy around her age standing there with his violin case open. The boy was dressed in plain blue t-shirt and a pair of black trousers and he looked like someone whom one would just pass by without giving another thought. The surrounding bystanders, only a handful of people, didn't look particularly amused as well, as proved by the lack of bills in the violin case and occasionally the sound was out of tune.

Which was a shame, since Maki could tell right away that he was a good player. Trained in classical music, Maki knew how to differentiate between poor skills and poor instruments. This teenager definitely belonged to the latter group, as it was clear the violin was an old model that needed repair. Still, the fiddler moved his fingers agitatedly on the board, his right arm swinging rhythmically to change the motion of the bow. He was apparently enjoying this as well, closing his eyes and slowly moving his body around in total disregard of his surroundings.

He would come to regret that, though. In order to make a dramatic finale, he dropped his arm right after pulling the last note loudly, but he didn't realize that the tip of his bow accidentally hit a passer-by in the chest. Maki was about to place a bill in his case when she heard the music abruptly stopped.

'Hey punk! What do you think you're doing?'

The passer-by was certainly not entertained even though the boy kept apologizing. He took a glance at the meek expression of the violinist and smirked. 'You think you can do whatever you want on the street just because you're playing some old, broken trash?'

Maki tightened her grip on her schoolbag. It was clear that this guy, with a rather menacing countenance, was simply intimidating the violinist for fun, which was completely unnecessary when he kept bowing and saying he was sorry. The crimson-haired girl looked around, but to her distaste no one looked interested enough to interrupt a clear case of bullying. There weren't many spectators to begin with, and some just backed away when the big guy started raising his voice.

'You think saying sorry will work?' The guy bellowed. 'How about you pay me with those money in your case, and then we're good?'

'What?' the boy squealed, taking a step back when the guy tried to grab the collar of his shirt. There were less than a couple thousand yen in the case, and he did not want to let his earning of the day go just like that. The guy totally ignored him though, and just pushed him aside to go for the money himself. Out of instinct, he covered his violin with his body, resulting in his head colliding with the ground with no protection.

'What a loser,' the guy laughed, and proceeded to grab the money. Yet he froze when he saw a schoolgirl closing the violin case and pulling it away in no time.

'What are you doing?' he stared at the crimson-haired girl, whom he found familiar looking, but he couldn't figure why. Maki gulped, wondering why she acted out of instinct just like that, but she had no choice now.

'Come any closer and…and…' she bit her lips, not really sure what to suggest, 'I'll scream!' she managed to mutter, not very convincingly however, given her trembling legs and her faltering eyes.

Yet, that certainly managed to do the trick. While the man looked like he was going to lunge forward, he stopped himself when people started to see what was going on. It certainly wasn't a pretty scene – an intimidating guy and a dejected schoolgirl. It was easy to tell who the people would side with if things escalated. Hence the man snorted and walked away, not paying them any more attention. The surrounding crowd slowly dispersed, and Maki let out the breath that she was holding for the whole time. She dropped to the ground in relief, hugging the violin case that she protected.

'Ano…'

Maki turned around to find the violinist staring at her as if she was some kind of weird creature that did not exist in the world. 'Thanks for doing that for me.'

She was about to rebuke, intuitively, that she wasn't trying to help him, that she just did not enjoy seeing people who liked music being treated like that. But she stopped herself when her eyes caught the small stain of blood on his forehead.

'You're bleeding,' she whispered.

'Ah, this,' the boy replied, holding his head in an embarrassed manner and wiping the blood away with his arm. 'It'll be fine. The bleeding will stop soon anyway.'

Maki frowned, wondering why someone would not want to treat one's wound right away. He looked to be more concerned about his violin than his wound, inspecting his violin carefully to see if there were any scratches while totally ignoring the running blood on his head. The sight of the red liquid bothered her a lot.

As a doctor-to-be, she could not pretend she didn't see that.

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><p>When she had calmed down and given more thoughts about it (something that she curiously had been doing a lot today), Maki wasn't sure why she was helping a stranger like that. She had yelled at him for not taking care of himself, dragged him to a park and made him sit on a bench, then without asking for his opinion, she started treating his wound.<p>

'Wow, I didn't expect a senior high student to carry a first aid kit around.'

The boy sounded amazed, though Maki didn't understand why. Was that really such an extraordinary thing? She received the same question once when Honoka slipped and scratched her knee, or when Rin accidentally caused everything to fall down in the storage room. Wasn't it just normal to carry it around just in case?

'Hold still,' was all Maki said in response. She observed the wound closely to make sure she had what she needed, and as she held his head she noticed the boy giving her a weird stare.

'What?' she asked impatiently. The boy blushed and tried to turn his head away, only for Maki to tighten her grip. 'How am I going to clean your wound if you look elsewhere?'

'Ah, sorry,' the boy smiled timidly, scratching the nape of his neck. 'It is just that…ah never mind.'

She knew she might be a dense person – everyone in μ's had called her clueless at least once – but it was when she raised her purple eyes to meet his glance, feeling his hot breath on her neck, that she realized what the problem was.

His face was too close.

And upon close inspection, he was actually a good-looking one.

Out of instinct, she yelped and pushed him away, before realizing what she had done. The boy, stunned by the development, did not get to react in time. By the time he had recovered, he felt the other side of his head hurting, and he didn't have to use his hand to reaffirm that he was bleeding from a new wound.

'Oh my God!' Maki panicked, rushing to his side and quickly used a tissue to absorb the blood. 'It's all because of your…your…' she couldn't continue, her mind too busy trying to treat his wound as quickly as possible, and at the same time she was too embarrassed to offer any sort of apology that she ought to have done so. 'It's all your fault for hurting yourself again!'

'You're the one who pushed me!'

Maki ignored his rebuttal and focused on her task. She had learnt all first aid technique by heart a long time ago, hence it didn't take long for her to clean his wounds and place a couple of neat adhesive tapes on his forehead. She dared not to say anything more, reckoning that even if he was mad he had every right to be so. However, seeing her helpless expression seemed to have entertained him quite a lot, as he just laughed (even if Maki told him to shut up) as she tended to his need.

'Thanks for helping me with this,' the boy grinned, pointing at his forehead. 'I would be in big trouble if you haven't taken care of me.'

'It's nothing,' Maki stated simply and started to pack her bag. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the boy lean his back on the bench and caress his violin carefully. They had both checked to make sure that there weren't any scratches on the body, but the boy didn't seem convinced. That actually brought a question to Maki's mind, one that she had been meaning to ask.

'Why didn't you use your hands protect yourself back then?' She watched as the boy turned to face her, his face confused. 'Any sensible person will do that. Who knows what the fall will cause you? Besides, you should get a new violin anyway. This model is too old.'

The boy ruffled his short, dark hair and flashed the sixteen-year-old a sheepish grin. 'I've always been told that I'm not that sensible.'

Maki frowned. She felt like this person had been wasting her time.

'But I only have one violin, and without this I can't play anymore. I can't afford to buy another one.'

What did he mean? Judging from his skills, Maki could tell he was someone who had been playing for quite a long time. Surely someone who did that would be able to afford a new one? A violin wasn't that expensive anyway.

'I'll be using this to try for an audition in two months. Besides, I have made a promise to use this violin to do achieve my dream.'

'A promise?'

The boy sensed that he had her curious. He wasn't one to reveal too much about his personal biography, but somehow he felt like he could trust this person. After all, she just helped him fight away someone who tried to take his hard-earned savings, and just treated his wounds with care. She didn't seem like a bad person at all.

'My guardian at the orphanage. He passed away last year. This is the only thing he left me.'

He quickly tidied his stuff, and carried the violin case on his shoulder. Noticing that Maki looked shocked by his revelation, he figured it was a good time to leave as well. 'Thanks for your help today, miss. Have fun with _Années de pèlerinage_. It's not an easy piece.' (*)

The departing figure of the boy, who was humming a delightful tune, gradually faded from Maki's vision. She was still startled by what he had said. It became clear to her as to why he valued this particularly old violin so much. More importantly, he wasn't just doing it for money but he knew the world of classical music as well. Who else could see _Années de pèlerinage _on the cover of the scores that she had just purchased and be able to hum the very same melody right away?

Maki had never felt like this before. She couldn't forget the way his eyes dimmed when he talked about the promise, contrary to his previously energetic expression. She felt like there was more about this person that she wanted to learn about.

There was only one way to achieve that.

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><p><em>End of Chapter 1<em>

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><p>* <em>Années de pèlerinage<em> _(Years of Pilgrimage)_ is a piano solo work by Franz Liszt. It's most recently known for piece no.8 _"Le mal du pays (Homesickness)" _from the first suite, as it is a prominent tune in Murakami Haruki's latest novel – **Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.**

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><p>I wonder if the first chapter goes well? I reckon it's a different kind of story from what is generally written in the fandom, but I'd like to give it a try. Meanwhile, I'll also keep updating <em>All Alone With You<em>, which I have the drafts of several chapters ready.

Please leave me a review to let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2: I Saw Her Standing There

Frankly, I'm surprised by the number of reviews I got for the first chapter. Given the nature of the story and the fandom, I really didn't expect to hear that many are hoping to read such kind of non-yuri pairing, one that involves an OC nonetheless. Thanks all! I really appreciate it!

One reviewer has brought up **Shigatsu wa Kimo no Uso**(Your Lie in April), a currently airing anime, in his/her review. As a fan of the original manga series, I won't deny that some part of the writing process is influenced by it. However, contrary to where the manga seems to be heading towards, this story won't have characters with serious illness. That I can guarantee.

Chapter title is the song by the Beatles, from their very first album.

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><p><em>Chapter 2: <em>_ I Saw Her Standing There_

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><p>As expected, she found him on the same spot on the very next day.<p>

'Ah, aren't you the one from yesterday…'

The boy ceased talking when he saw Maki ignore him and just scan the area. She looked mad, in a way, but he couldn't figure out why. He shrugged and went back to getting his violin out of his case when he heard Maki speak.

'If you're hoping to get more extra cash, this place won't work.'

He raised a curious eyebrow and stared.

'You're right in the middle of the street, which is not very crowded to begin with. No one is going to stop to listen to you, let along pay you,' Maki stated plainly. 'Look around. Most people around here are students. They likely won't be interested if all you can play is classical music.'

'But you listened yesterday,' the boy weakly rebuked.

Maki blushed instantly and turned her face away. 'Of course I did. Don't treat me like anyone else.

'Anyway, the point is that this is not the place. Follow me. I know a place that is better.'

Initially reluctant to go, the boy was surprised to learn that Maki was right. She had taken him to a more crowded place in the city centre, where mostly salarymen passed by and the elder ones were more willing to pay him. For the same duration, he managed to earn much more than he had in the past few days.

'Wow,' was all he could say after he counted all his money and put them in his bag. 'I don't know how to probably show my appreciation"…' he turned to Maki, his face beaming with joy. 'If it weren't for you I wouldn't be able to have earned all these.'

Maki felt her cheeks boiling at his comment. She crossed her arms, wondering why her shoes looked so appealing all of a sudden. 'Of course,' was all she could say. Really, she didn't know what else she could add.

'How about I treat you to a meal?'

His offer came out of the blue and she froze.

'I mean,' he diffidently scratched his head, a gesture that Maki had come to recognize whenever he felt embarrassed, 'you did help me find this spot, and you've been here for the whole hour of my performance.'

Come to think about it, why did she do all these anyway? He was just a stranger, and she only happened to run into him yesterday. And today, she reminded herself mentally, but she had made it a mission to find him today. Which brought her back to the original question, and she had no answer.

'Well, if you insist…' Maki reluctantly relied, clinging to the strap of her bag on her shoulder. 'It's just because I happen to want to have the time though. It's not because of anything else!'

'That's great!' the boy exclaimed, jumping with his arms held high. Maki was taken aback by his childish act, and couldn't help but let out a soft laughter. The boy dropped his expression momentarily and stared.

'What?' Maki asked, tilting her head to one side. The boy blushed and shook his head frantically.

'Actually,' the boy changed the topic, 'I haven't gotten your name yet?'

Ah, that was right. After all these time of helping someone out, she didn't actually know how to address him. _Well done, Maki,_ she sighed to herself.

'My name is Kihara Keisuke,' the boy smiled. 'What is your name?'

Maki found herself staring again. There was something about the boy that she couldn't figure out. Was it the aura he exerted, when he was playing the violin, that mesmerized her? Was it his passion that drew her to him? She wanted to answer him right away, but somehow a random thought entered her mind before she opened her mouth, and she went with it even though she wasn't sure why.

'You can just call me Maki.'

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><p>From that day onward, Maki seemed to have encountered a newfound passion in her music, writing songs after songs that their group could use. Since Umi was busy with Student Council activities and preparation for college entrance exam, she had even tried to write the lyrics too, with the help of Rin and Hanayo, though their feedback surprised her.<p>

'Maki-chan, don't you find the lyrics a bit too…umm…'

'Lovey-dovey nya? And Maki-chan, aren't you spacing out a lot lately? Tell me, is there something that we should know nya?'

Contrary to Hanayo's implicit tone, Rin's straight ball was always one that attempted to shatter her defence. Maki blushed immediately and tried to change the topic, but to no avail.

'That is true,' Hanayo looked thoughtful, supporting her chin with her finger. 'Maki-chan is always looking out of the window during class, and often doesn't realize we're calling her name.'

'Not to mention, you are always texting nowadays nya,' Rin took one step forward with a cunning expression and accusing finger, making Maki jump back in fear. 'We all have been meaning to ask about it for quite a while, and since now the first-years and third-years are not here, how about you tell us first nya?'

'I…I have nothing to tell you!' Maki weakly replied, but Rin was not one to give up so easily, and proceeded to run after the pianist. By the time Honoka and others arrived at the club room, they found an exhausted Rin and a half-dead Maki sitting on the floor, both trying to recover from the chase that lasted for almost an hour.

It wasn't like Maki was deliberately hiding this from her close friends. Rather, she simply wasn't sure what to make of her relationship with Keisuke. It had only been two weeks since they first met, but Maki couldn't get him out of her mind. She would spend time watching his street performance and they would often share a meal after that, if not doing other things such as watching a movie together. When she was with him, even though she still refrained from revealing too much about herself or her family, she felt thoroughly at ease. It wasn't easy to discuss classical music with someone her age, and unlike those people whom Maki's parents introduced her, he wasn't the kind that tried to show off or lured after her because of how many assets her family owned. He was just Keisuke, an aspiring violinist always carrying a gentle expression, and she liked him a lot for that.

Did she really like him in that way, though? That was something Maki had not been able to figure out. She didn't have many male friends to begin with (in fact, none, if she discounted one that her mother tried to set her up with, even though Maki knew he swung a different way), so she had no idea how to make a fair judgment on this. It certainly didn't help that from time to time, as Rin had pointed out the half-truth, she kept thinking about him during class and during her song-writing process.

Still, that didn't really mean she liked him, right? What if it's just that she had made a really good friend? One that she enjoyed spending time with? One that she felt her heart thump faster whenever their skins happened to cross ways? One that she sometimes had the urge to hold his arm when they were alone?

…

Maki swore her brain was melting.

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><p>It was Friday evening when she met him again.<p>

The advantage of him living on the other side of Tokyo was that chance of her running into people she knew was slim. While Maki was well-known in school and around the neighbourhood (and not that she didn't enjoyed such attention), from time to time she felt relieved to just be an ordinary teenager. Besides, she didn't want any disturbance when she could just spend time with him.

Wherever that thought came from.

Keisuke just finished his routine performance and he had offered to treat her dinner. 'It's only fair after you have helped me so many times, Maki-san,' he had told her, and despite her protest that she wasn't really helping him, she accepted the offer anyway.

It was always refreshing to talk to him. He would tell her stories of composers and history of various instruments that she had never thought about. It wasn't just classical music that he knew; he also exposed himself to contemporary music when he got to, since his little sister, who was two years younger than they were, dreamed of being a school idol in the future. Maki raised an eyebrow when he mentioned that, but her curious expression was soon replaced by one of uncontrollable giggles. After all, it was quite a sight to imagine when he said his sister sang and danced in the living room, only for the elderly living next-door to call the police since he suspected the noise was due to burglary.

Perhaps she had laughed a bit too much, for Keisuke never took his eyes away from her.

'What is it?' she asked, wiping away the tear from her eyes.

'You look really cute when you smile like that.'

It was an instant kill for both of them. Keisuke only realized what he had said after he saw Maki's startled face and thoroughly flushed cheeks, while his weren't faring any better. It didn't help when he spoke a little too loudly, for that matter.

'Id…id…idiot!' Maki managed to blurt out the words in her throat, throwing her face away from him. The customers around them seemed to have taken an interest in their conversation, when Maki could no longer hear their voices. She raised her head, only to find most people were staring at them, some casting an encouraging look at Keisuke and some winking in their direction.

She did the first thing that came to her mind. She picked up her bag and ran.

'Wait! Maki-san!'

The crimson-haired girl dashed out of the shop, carrying her bag tightly in her arms. She wasn't sure where she was going. All she wanted to do was to get away from all those judging faces.

But it didn't take Keisuke long to catch up with her, when he grabbed her wrist to stop her from running.

'Get off me!' Maki knew she was clearly overreacting, but even with that thought in mind she continued to struggle out of his grip.

'I meant what I said!'

It took her a lot of courage to turn her head slowly to face him. He looked panicked and understandably nervous, but there was this sincerity in his voice, reflected in his dark eyes, that made her stop struggling.

'….what?' she weakly muttered, and gave them both a chance to catch their breath.

'I…' Keisuke opened his mouth a few times, but every time he swallowed back his words. Usually Maki would get impatient in such situation, but this time she had a feeling that she should wait for him. There was something that she was expecting to hear, even though she consciously wasn't sure what it was, but she just knew she needed to hear it.

'I meant…I meant what I said,' Keisuke whispered, his free hand grabbing her spare one and clutched their hands together. 'You are very cute, Maki-san. And…and kind, and smart, and…and caring…and…and…'

Maki's purple eyes grew wider with each word he said.

'I really enjoy spending time with you, and I want to do it more,' Keisuke looked her in the eyes, his glowing cheeks appearing to be as red as her hair. 'I know this may bother you since we haven't really known each other for that long, but…I like you, Maki-san!'

The street should be full of people. A normal Tokyo evening, even if they were not in the most crowded place, should be noisier than this. But Maki could not hear any sound but her own heartbeat. Everything around her started to fade out. Surrounding buildings and the neon signs gradually turned invisible. All she could see was the dark-haired boy in front of her, the pair of strong, determined eyes that she had thought about over and over again. Only that there was something more in his eyes this time, a flick of emotion more intense that she had ever seen.

With each passing second, the air grew denser, and she started to have a hard time breathing. She wondered why he was still standing there, or why she was doing the same. She wondered why he looked upset, a rather peculiar countenance to be associated with him.

'It's not that!' she cried, cutting his sentence in half when he began to apologize for startling her. 'It's not that…' she reached out her arm and grabbed the edge of his shirt, her eyes on the ground and her mind far from the earth.

'…then what is it?' he was testing her, she figured. Her suspicion was confirmed when his palms rested on her cheeks, forcing her to face him directly. Maki gasped.

'It's not like I…' she stuttered. Damn her and her reluctance to speak her mind! Keisuke didn't seem to mind though. He carefully shortened the distance between their faces, and Maki could feel his hot breath on her neck, making her shiver.

'Then what is it?' he asked again, this time in a much calmer tone.

Maki knew what was going to happen, and she was certain her heart could stop functioning with that rapid movement. Her arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer without consciously being aware of that.

'I'm not doing this for you,' Maki argued. 'It's just that…I happen to be available and…and…'

Keisuke just smiled warmly and said nothing. He pulled Maki's face closer and Maki found no reason to continue talking as well. Both closed their eyes and prepared themselves for what was going to happen. It didn't matter to them they were doing it on streets now, where everyone could be watching them. For now, for once, Maki didn't care. She was just going to let herself indulge in this moment that she had been anticipating for long…

'I'm sorry, dear customer. You haven't paid for the meal yet.'

A shriek, a yell, and a quick push. The expressionless waiter from the ramen shop found the two customers looking at him with unbelievable countenances. It was not his duty to care though. He just kept staring at the two, who wanted nothing more than digging a hole in the ground and hiding themselves from the world.

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><p><em>End of Chapter 2<em>

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><p>I am aware that I am rushing things a bit. Partly it's because I hope to get to the focus of the story soon, and partly because I hope not to prolong this story any longer than it should be, given my own busy schedule in life. I do apologize if that affects the flow of reading by any means.<p>

Kindly leave me a review to let me know what you think! Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3: カラフル

Similar to what I said my latest update in _All Alone with You_, I'm terribly sorry for taking so long to update. It's been a very busy semester and I didn't have much time during Christmas holiday to write as well. This chapter was written a while ago, but I never really got to look over it and I tend to have an extra chapter ready before I publish anything. Since I just finished writing chapter 4 in my draft, I think it's a good time to get this chapter out.

Chapter title, literally translated as "Colourful", refers to the ED of **Saenai Hiroin no Sodatekata**, aka **How to Train the Ordinary Girl to be a Heroine**_. _I really enjoy the show. Katou is just adorable.

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><p><em>Chapter 3: <em>_カラフル_

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><p>It might purely be her imagination, but Maki felt that everyone at school was looking at her differently these days. Her classmates kept sending her suggestive looks, and even her juniors were staring at her with raised eyebrows. Feeling impatient about the whole scenario, she confronted Rin and Hanayo during lunch one day.<p>

Her best friends looked at each other thoughtfully, which annoyed her even further.

'Hmm…how to put it nyaa?' Rin poked her own cheek and looked at the clouds.

'It seems that you're…unusually happy, Maki-chan, but not in a bad way…' Hanayo replied, sounding unsure of her own words.

'What do you mean?' Maki snorted, sipping her apple juice. 'I'm still the same. It's not like I've changed.'

'Well…how to put it…' Hanayo trailed off and appeared to be deep in thought, 'You have been spacing out a lot recently, either in class or during our practice. You constantly stare at your mobile phone and keep texting. Even your smile these days is different…'

However, Rin did not have the patience to wait for her childhood friend to finish her, as she just looked at Maki innocently.

'These days, Maki-chan looks like those girls in TV shows who are in love.'

Maki spurted out the apple juice in her mouth, nervously coughed, and turned to Rin with a thoroughly flushed face. Hanayo gasped.

'W–wh–what are you saying?' she exclaimed, her face twisting in shock. Hanayo seemed taken aback by her reaction and retreated out of instinct, while Rin's eyes had never widened any further.

'So it's true?' she lunged herself at the crimson-haired girl and shook her shoulders. 'Maki-chan, do you have a crush on someone? Who is it? Is it a fan of yours? Is it someone that we know? Tell us Maki-chan!'

Rin kept shaking her, and Maki was too confused by all the questions and Rin's action that she could not answer right away. It was only after pushing Rin away and regaining her breath and Maki wondered how she should answer her friends' questions. Hanayo's watering eyes did not seem to help the matter.

Should she tell them? It wasn't like she didn't want them to know, since they were her best friends and her most trusted companions, but she wasn't sure if telling them about it now was a good idea. After all, it had only been a short time since she and Keisuke had confirmed their feelings for each other. While the official and simple answer would be yes, Maki found it too embarrassing to say out loud. Wouldn't it make more sense to reveal it to her friends when her relationship had become more stable?

Yet she didn't want to lie to her friends either. The expectant looks on Hanayo's and Rin's faces made her gulp, and she knew that the longer she avoided answering, the more suspicious she looked.

'Stop talking nonsense, Rin,' she hand-chopped her friend's head as Rin pressed the question again, earning a yelp and a pout from the cat-like girl. 'I just have some personal things that I need to deal with right now, but don't worry, I'm fine.' The look on their faces seemed to indicate they wanted more. 'I'll let you two know when things become more stable.'

It wasn't completely a lie, and they still didn't look completely convinced, but that was all Maki could come up with. Later on the day, Honoka and others also asked her if something was wrong, and she wondered if seeing someone really caused that much change to her perceived appearance.

* * *

><p>'I'm really sorry that you have to come like this,' Keisuke scratched his head and made room for Maki to enter. 'I really did not mean to cancel our date under this circumstance.'<p>

'It's okay,' Maki stressed, taking off her shoes as she walked inside the apartment. 'How's your sister doing?'

'Not very good,' Keisuke sighed and pointed a finger at a room nearby, where Maki could see a girl sleeping on the bed. 'Her temperature was still high. I've given her some medicine, but it doesn't seem to have any effect yet…'

'Of course it doesn't. It takes time for the medicine to show its worth,' Maki stated plainly, and with Keisuke's company she entered the room.

Today was supposed to be their date – their third to be exact. After getting interrupted by the ramen shop waiter a week ago, the two had gone on dates a couple of times. The first time, they decided to watch a movie after school, and they spent the second time walking around the city and visiting different music stores. They were supposed to visit the aquarium today, but an hour ago Maki received a call from Keisuke saying that he couldn't go, as his sister was sick. Reckoning that she wanted to help and that she knew he couldn't afford to go to the hospital, she decided to pay his apartment a visit.

The girl lying on bed had the same facial feature as Keisuke. Her dark long hair rested on the bed while her chest rose and fell unnaturally. It wasn't a surprise, since she was sweating all over her body and never for a second did her breathing stabilize. Maki touched her forehead and felt her pulse, before asking Keisuke to leave the room so she could change his sister's soaked clothes.

Trying to remember everything that she had learnt from her parents regarding how to handle this kind of situation, she carefully undressed the young girl, whose name was Kihara Shizuka, and wiped her body with a clean towel. Shizuka mumbled incoherently in the process, though she did not seem to notice that a stranger was helping her. When she seemed to have woken up for a moment, Maki instructed her to take the medicine she brought over, and after swallowing the pills she went back to sleep again. Maki was relieved that the young girl looked slightly better now. At least her breathing rate decelerated into a more normal pace.

'It's better to prepare some food for her once she wakes up,' Maki told Keisuke as she glanced at the clock, which indicated it was just past noon.

'Don't worry about that,' Keisuke grinned. 'I've been preparing some congee while you were taking care of Shizuka.'

It sounded reassuring, but that was until Maki entered the kitchen and saw nothing but total blackness in the bowl.

* * *

><p>Maki tried her best to buy the necessary ingredients as soon as she could, and once she got back to the apartment she forced the young violinist to stand next to her as she prepared the food.<p>

'Listen here. You have to be careful of how much water you add to the rice,' the school idol instructed and then turned to the place of vegetables. 'Wash them thoroughly. You can't just eat them without rinsing them at all.'

Keisuke kept staring at her, with his lips parted, and Maki wondered if he was listening at all. 'What?' she queried.

'Ah…it just feels surreal that a famous school idol is actually at my apartment teaching me how to cook.'

Maki blushed and snapped out of instinct. 'I'm not doing this just for you, you know! This is for your sister so that she could have something decent to eat when she wakes up, or in the future, at least!'

'I know, I know,' laughed Keisuke, his eyes capturing the scene of Maki in an apron, covering the white top and blue skirt that she was wearing. 'Still, it's hard to believe. Not only can you sing, dance, play the piano, you can also cook.'

Maki pouted and turned away, feeling the heat glowing on her cheeks. 'Don't forget that you didn't really know that part before I told you my full name, so stop saying these nonsense and focus on preparing the food!'

As Keisuke obliged, with a smirk that earned a punch from her, Maki thought back to the night when he confessed. After awkwardly leaving the restaurant to settle the bill, Keisuke offered to walk her home. She accepted it, and the two largely remained silent during their walk. They finally paused in front of Maki's house, when Keisuke looked surprised at the gigantic structure and the name on the front gate's wood.

'_Nishikino…' he said to himself, before raising his head in surprise. 'You're Nishikino Maki? The school idol?'_

_Maki knew that he would find out if they came here. It wasn't that she didn't want to let him know, but beforehand she was weary of the possibility that he liked her because of her status. Now that she knew that wasn't the case, she simply didn't know how to tell him properly. _

_She nodded timidly, her heart beating fast as she anticipated his response. Would he hate her for that? Would he think that she had been lying to him all along? Would this affect his impression of her? She was so afraid of so many heart-breaking scenarios that she was relieved to see him seemingly taking the news calmly._

'_I should have figured…' he moaned, scratching the nape of his neck and looking dumbfounded. 'I mean, my sister is a big fan of your group, but I never really paid much attention because I was so busy with other things…'_

Perhaps the fact that knowing Shizuka was a fan of μ's, old or new, played a part in her wanting to help the girl, but at the same time Maki also wanted to visit Keisuke's family nonetheless. With both his parents gone, she knew how much Shizuka meant to the dark-haired teenager. All the money that he earned from his performance or part-time job, he spent much on providing Shizuka the best environment to grow. Fortunately, based on what he had told her, Shizuka was an obedient fourteen-year-old who understood the virtue of frugality.

Although that only sorrowfully explained how the junior high student could have endured Keisuke's horrible cooking, Maki thought, as they finished preparing her food and also made some for themselves as lunch.

Gulping nervously, Maki watched Keisuke pick up the meat with his chopsticks, swallow the substance, and then look at her disbelievingly.

'What?' she raised her voice a bit, anxious in knowing what he thought of her cooking skills. It was the first time she had prepared food for someone other than her family – she had not even cooked for Rin and Hanayo before! – and since the best way to get to a boy's heart was through his stomach, she fidgeted her fingers for the umpteenth time and waited impatiently for his response.

'You never cease to amaze me,' Keisuke commented, taking another bite. 'I've never eaten anything more delicious in my life before! Is there anything that you could not do?'

Maki could feel the temperature of her cheeks rising, and she had to try her very best to suppress a wide grin from surfacing. 'Don't think that flattering me will do you any good,' she snorted, or at least she tried to, as she reached for her utensils in a failed attempt to distract herself from her own thoughts.

'But it's true!' Keisuke beamed. 'You can sing, dance, cook, are incredibly cute, and immensely popular as well! I just feel that I'm the luckiest guy in the world now!'

The sixteen-year-old had to hide her face in her hands, for she could not stop the wide, satisfied smile from appearing on her face. Her heart was beating faster than any pop song she had heard of. Unbeknownst to her, Keisuke only found this side of her even cuter. He moved forward and grabbed Maki's hand, forcing her to look at him.

'…stop bullying me,' Maki pleaded, her eyes staring into his dark orbs that seemed to move closer and closer with each passing second.

'…I meant what I said,' came his soft reply, and Maki took in a deep breath, as his face leaned even closer. His hands cupped her face, and she closed her eyes in anticipation.

There was no one to interrupt them this time. With Keisuke half-kneeling on the ground, their lips met for the first time. A heart-warming feeling spread through her whole body at the contact. It was unlike anything that she had experienced before. She could feel her muscles initially tense, but gradually relax as the kiss prolonged. Unconsciously, she put her arm around his waist for support, closing the distance between the two.

It was a tender moment that she wished would last longer, but the physical need for breath took its course as the two unwillingly broke apart. They were both panting, but their eyes never left each other. She wouldn't admit it, but she liked it, this feeling of weightlessness and intimacy.

Keisuke wordlessly surrounded her with his arms and pulled her into a hug. It was as if he was showing her appreciation for all that she had done, though Maki wasn't sure if she had achieved anything spectacular. Still, she accepted it, for she also enjoyed just feeling the warmth of his body like that. The air was still, and the moment of calmness was appealing to her.

That was until a loud scream came from the room, and the two abruptly broke apart and turned to see what was wrong. The door was harshly swung open, and from the room it emerged a young girl with dark, long hair, wearing a pale blue pyjama, with a look of absolute horror on her face.

'Did you change my clothes when I was sleeping, onii-chan?' she charged, directing her fierce gaze at Keisuke. 'How dare you violate your little sister like that! Even though we live together, that does not give you any right to do it! How can I marry now if my own brother has stripped me of my clothes and seen me in…in…in this state?'

'Wow, wow, calm down, Shizuka,' Keisuke raised his hands in defence. 'I was not the one who changed you.'

'Hmph?' Shizuka raised an eyebrow, and that was when she realized that they had a guest in the house. She eyed Maki suspiciously, causing the crimson-haired girl to shift uncomfortably, and returned to her room.

'I guess if it's Maki-chan who did it then it's fine,' she snorted, closed the door behind her, and quickly reopened it and widened her eyes in astonishment.

'M–M–Ma–Ma–Maki–chan!? I mean, Nishikino-san!?' Shizuka made no attempt to hide her shock, her jaws dropping to the ground. She looked back and forth between her elder brother and Maki, and retreated to her room again. 'Just give me one minute to change into something more proper! I'll be right back!'

The sound of the closing door stunned Maki, and she turned her head to look at Keisuke, not knowing how to react. Keisuke shook his head and sighed, rubbing his temple.

'Sorry about that,' said the violinist. 'She probably didn't expect to see you here, given that she's a big fan of μ's and that I haven't really told her about us…'

Maki felt both flattered and a bit disappointed at the same time. While she didn't mean to impose her thoughts on him, she thought that he would have at least told his sister that he was seeing someone? But then, who was she to criticize him? She had not told Rin and Hanayo either, let along her own parents.

'Ah, it's not like she doesn't know I am dating someone,' Keisuke added upon seeing the troubled expression on Maki's face, 'she just doesn't know that it's one of her favourite idols. It's just…well…I didn't think she'd have believed me even if I told her that.'

In a way it made sense, and Maki felt her discontent dissipate into thin air right away. 'Of course she wouldn't believe it,' she said, twirling her hair unconsciously, and gave her boyfriend a stare. 'You're the only one who didn't know who I was.'

'Are we going to talk about that again?' Keisuke made a face and held Maki's hand. 'But I know who you are now, right? And I only want to know you more.'

Maki turned her face away as she could feel her cheeks burning again. 'I–Idiot! Don't say something like that so shamelessly!'

They were interrupted with the opening of the door to Shizuka's room, and they were greeted with the image of the long-haired girl in more fashionable attire. Amidst Keisuke's helpless remark that she was still a sick person (which she totally ignored), Shizuka looked at her brother and Maki's intertwined fingers and rubbed her chin gravely.

'Onii-chan says that he has a girlfriend…Nishikino Maki-san from μ's is here at my house…She is the one who helped me change…She is holding hands with onii-chan…'

Maki almost let a laugh escape her lips at Shizuka's shell-shocked face of realization. Understanding that, at least for now, things were clear, she proceeded to grab the plate of food she had prepared for the young girl, and motioned for her to come over and sit with them.

'We can talk more later. Now, let's eat first. You need some food for your body to recover soon.'

* * *

><p><em>End of Chapter 3<em>

* * *

><p>Originally, I wanted Keisuke's sister to be named Yukiho, since I really like the character of the same name from <strong>THE IDOLMASTER<strong>, but that was before I remember that Honoka's sister was also called Yukiho.

Also, I thought I should also mention that when I first started writing this story, I set Keisuke as a guitarist in a rock band and hence Maki would enter a world that she didn't have much exposure to before, but then I thought using classical music as a connection will be more fun. I have used classical music in my other story, _La Musica Della Notte_, in the **Hayate no Gotoku** fandom, and I wanted to try something different on the same connecting theme.

I can't promise a time for update, though I will hope to be soon. Stay tuned and thanks for the patience!


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